Abstract
Based on the best estimates of the prevalence of human Papillomavirus infection in the United States, the overall HPV prevalence in the target population is approximately 20%. The prevalence varies greatly with age, being as high as ∼50% in the third decade to less than 5% in the sixth. These data have implications for a discussion about the utility of human Papillomavirus testing as a screening procedure. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:1197–1198, 2001)